DiscusHunter, give it some time

Don't post pictures that don't show your fish in their best light. A crappy picture means a crappy fish to us. Why would anyone post a crappy picture? No one is forcing you to post it so just wait until you get a good picture. And you'll need a lot more light to get a good one... light is the key, especially with a digicamcorder. The way it looks now it seems that you don't notice how crappy the pictures are. If you do notice then you should have enough sense not to post them. If you don't notice then you shouldn't be choosing fish, at least not for me.

Be patient. Your breeding pairs didn't become successful overnight and there was nothing you could do to force them to become successful. And you're not going to jump into a forum like this and immediately sell fish. It won't happen that way. There are too many other good, known sources for Discus for these people to take that chance. So spend your time getting to know the people and offering good advice. Show us pictures of your sweet fish when you get great pictures and in time people will buy the fish. If it has to happen today then you're not going to make it. Free fish won't do it. Having hobbyists come to your location and giving their opinion will help a lot.

Stop overselling. Skip the free fish, it only makes you look needy. So far you've told me I'm getting 2 free fish including shipping. I assume you've bitten off more then you can chew and are not a "known shipper" and cannot ship to Canada. I didn't think that would be a problem as on a previous incarnation of your site you said you were a global shipper & had been one for 20+ years. That doesn't seem to be the case. So you made the offer and now you can't fulfill it. You also aren't forthright enough to respond to my email or my post here and tell me that you can't ship the fish. No response is needed now, I get it. I didn't earn any fish to begin with so it's no big deal.

People don't place the same value on something they got for free as they do something that they paid their hard-earned money for. So free fish isn't a good strategy. A good strategy would be to make yourself indispensable on this forum and the sales will start trickling in. Don't expect a flood anytime soon. I've been posting on these boards for a long time and still people are recommending that posters buy what I sell from other anonymous companies that sell their products for more money than I do. So merely being here and offering advice & friendship is not a guarantee of sales. People buy where they want to buy for a variety of reasons. Impatience won't work to your advantage with the sale any more then it will with the fish. HTH.

Dave

p.s. here's hoping that the simple opinions of the posters on this forum won't automatically lead to this thread being locked. Nick is in need of advice and if it can be offered without bashing I don't see why it can't be done on the forum. Please send me a message if this thread is not acceptable and I will delete it.

Dave

Nick recieved a huge amount of good advice on the first two threads and paid zero attention to it. Much of it you repeat in this post.....what makes you think some more of the same advice will do any good?

Tony

[DarkDiscus]

Dave,

I agree. It sounds like the Discushnter is honestly looking to learn and better his knowledge of discus. He has asked for help and I think that this site is a really good one to give him that help. He just can't hope for his reputation and his knowledge to change in a day.

Tony,

Sometimes it takes a while for folks to catch on. Ever have to learn a lesson a couple of times before it sinks in? I know I have! Hopefully Discushunter will eventually get it.

Discushunter,

I believe that you honestly want to figure out how to be a good seller of discus. No one would post some of those pics unless they really didn't understand discus quality, etc. I also understand that you are trying to 'sell' and some of your prior statements were based on this.

Listen to what people have said to you. Read and learn about discus. Insist on quality fish from your suppliers. Respectability for a discus seller doesn't happen overnight.

John

[brewmaster15]

Dave,
I agree with you 100%, and your post is perfectly acceptable, thought out very well, and honestly written. Posts don't get locked because of the "the simple opinions of the posters on this forum " --they only get locked when then they get out of control.

I would be telling a serious lie if I said that I wasn't dissappointed in how some people reacted to Nicks posts. This forum is meant to be a welcoming place for the Hobby. A mistake was made several months ago, and it was a serious one. Stealing pictures and themes from other sites shows bad character and is illegal. Trying to do it right and Coming back again to this site though and asking for the sites help and opinions took a strong character though. That was not easy I am sure. The reaction of some of us here though is not something to be proud of. It is not something I am proud of.

Nick is young, and yes made some big mistakes before, and his method of trying to "Buy" respect here was not the best way to do this, but we could have tried a little harder to educate without the attacks give the person a real second chance. Mistakes are something to be learned from, not rubbed in someones face. God knows we have all made them, some like me...make them often.

I know why people reacted as they did, as there are plenty of rip off artists out there. But if someone comes to this board and is trying to do right, we can at least give them a chance. In the past the hype has been over sellers thatt have hurt hobbysists.... Here we had a chance to make a good seller out of a novice and IMO- squandered it. I would like to think that Nick's mistake was due to being hungry to succeed and make his company successful. In the business world that is a major factor in what makes a person succeed. My advice to Nick is to keep trying, and learn from as many as you can. I apologize to you for the way the posts were received, and I hope you will try to be a member here and learn with us.

Take care,
al

Well I know we are all suppose to be all warm and fuzzy on this site but I still have one question, he has stated that he has over 20 years of experence shipping and selling discus but in another one of his post he states he is only 18 years old....Maybe he can explain that one.
Randy

People were warned on this forum and on DAAH about two "discus frauds". Inspite of overwhelming evidence of repeated wrong doing by these two guys, some bleeding heart do gooders opted to yet place their trust in these guys, just knowing they would not get burned. Guess what?? They did, one guy to the tune of $400.00 for a "mated pair" of egg laying females only to be told it was a "mistake". How can someone be mistaken on a "mated pair"? ???

There are reputable breeders out there who did not burst onto the scene only to have to apologize later for defrauding customers and beg for a second chance. They marketed their integrity with their discus. Stick with the winners. People who come begging to be trusted again need to be told NO THANK YOU. If someone chooses to deal with these guys, then pay the price and shut up about it if you get burned. Don't come crying here :'(. Don't consider yourself a victim when forewarned. You were a willing participant :o. There's a big difference ::).

Mat :)

[brewmaster15]

Mat,
Has anyone here been sold Fish from Nick that they were not Happy with?


People were warned on this forum and on DAAH about two "discus frauds". Inspite of overwhelming evidence of repeated wrong doing by these two guys, some bleeding heart do gooders opted to yet place their trust in these guys, just knowing they would not get burned. Guess what?? They did, one guy to the tune of $400.00 for a "mated pair" of egg laying females only to be told it was a "mistake". How can someone be mistaken on a "mated pair"? This quote has nothing to do with the present situation.

How can you warn against someone you do not know, have not bought from, have no experience with?

-al

Tony,

I don't know. It seemed like it was worth a shot. I would have simply tagged my advice onto the other threads but they were locked. I don't think he understands the concept of light when taking digi pictures. Nor do I think he realizes that a crappy picture isn't worth posting. Imagine putting a picture of yourself on a Personals column and using one where you look like garbage and simply passing it off as a bad picture. It makes no sense so I wanted to point it out.

And I agree with what Mat is saying. It's hard to dig yourself out of a situation like this. Doubtful that it can be done. Reselling the fish of others is a tough racket and it's not made easier by misleading statements.

Dave

Obviously, the point of my thread was not evident to you, Al. Too bad. Glad you got it, Dave.

Mat

[brewmaster15]

Mat,
The point of your thread was not lost on me. Lately they all have the same theme.

But obviously the purpose of this forum is not evident to you. Too bad.

-al

The purpose of this forum is painfully obvious, not only to me, but to the many very knowledgable discus hobbyist and breeders who have left it or never bothered showing up in the first place. One day you'll learn some things about life and just let it happen instead of being a control freak. ;D

Mat

[jim_shedden]

Sorry Larry , but the only thing that I find obvious is the fact that the only time you show up is when you can add to a conflict. Its unfortunate because I have gone over a lot of your previous posts and you do have a lot to offer. God knows you have helped me alot and I appreciate it. I just feel that it is everyones loss. Since becoming a moderator on Simply I have learned that it is not just Al & Ryan that call the shots. For a topic to be locked or some sort of action to be taken it goes by a lot of eyes. Al & Ryan may have there name on it but the moderators and dministrators are all asked for their opinion beforehand.
Hope you come back .

Jim

[Ryan]

Larry,

I am sorry that you feel our forum is not what it should be, or could be. I am aware that there are people here who are not happy with how things are handled. That is fine. No one has to like what we do, and no one has to agree with the decisions we make. However, our time, energy, and money went into this website, and so all we ask is that you accept it.

I am a hobbyist. I love my fish, and I have been keeping and breeding them for a long time. I agreed to do this site because it is my hobby, my past-time. I wasn't aware that it would grow this large.

The numbers here (both in membership and in actual posts/messages) tell me that we have done something right. For every one person who has a problem with the administrative decisions at Simply, there are ten people who appreciate what we do.

I do not like to lock threads, edit posts, or play babysitter. I assumed everyone here was a mature adult, but several messages in the past few weeks have proven otherwise. When you are dealing with a website such as this, made up of people from all different cultures, backgrounds, opinions, beliefs, and ideals, you are bound to run into disagreements. If those were handled maturely, there would be no problem. However, the little smart-*** comments, back-handed remarks, and clever sarcasms should be left out, and they are not. These are what send posts into the ground.

I, for one, thought Dave's message was appropriate and it serves as an example of how one should handle a less-than-ideal situation. A member asked for opinions and suggestions, and Dave provided them. Yes, some was criticism, but it was constructive.

If you think I am a control freak, so be it, but this is not your website, and you do not call the shots here. No one has twisted your arm to stay. I feel that you are a knowledgable person with a lot to share, but I do take your criticisms of this website personally after I devoted months of my time and attention to the details that went into it. That may not seem like much to you, but if you were in my position, it is a big deal.

Simply is an accomplishment that I am proud of. I am sure Al feels the same way. However, this is only a website. We do not tolerate certain things because we do not have to. It is not worth the stress and headache that follows.

If you enjoy being here, that's wonderful. This is a resource. However, it's not to say that Simply has to allow or disallow any particular thing just because it's a message board. There are other boards with other policies that may welcome the things that our board doesn't allow.

On a final note, I am also disappointed in people who only show up to post when they have a complaint with the way situations are handled, or when they have something negative to say. We do not need it rubbed in our faces that people are not happy with our decisions, most who do not agree with our rules have made it blatantly clear.

I am sorry for those of you who have to wade through these sorts of posts in order to get to the informative ones.

Ryan